For example, in the Church children are taught
the principle of tithing, but it is at home that the
principle is applied. At home even young children can
be shown how to figure a tithe and how it is paid.
One time President and Sister Harold B. Lee were in
our home. Sister Lee put a handful of pennies on a
table before our young son. She had him slide the
shiny ones to one side and said, “These are your
tithing; these belong to the Lord. The others are
yours to keep.” He thoughtfully looked from one
pile to the other and then said, “Don’t you have
any more dirty ones?” That was when the real
teaching moment began!
Use the Ward Council to Establish Balance
The ward council is the perfect place to establish
the balance between home and Church. Here the
brethren of the priesthood, themselves fathers, and
sisters of the auxiliaries, themselves mothers, can,
with inspired insight, coordinate the work of the
organizations, each of which serves different
members of the family.
Members of the council can compare what each
organization is providing for each member and how
much time and money are required. They can unite
rather than divide families and provide watch care
over single parents, the childless, the unmarried, the
elderly, the handicapped—and provide much more
than just activities for the children and young people.
The ward council has resources often overlooked.
For instance, grandparents, while not filling callings,
can help young families who are finding their way
along the same path they once walked.
The Lord warned parents, “Inasmuch as parents
have children in Zion,... that teach them not to
understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in
Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism
and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of
the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon
the heads of the parents.”^11
The ward council is ideal for our present need. Here
the home and the family can be anchored in place,
and the Church can support rather than supplant
the parents. Fathers and mothers will understand
both their obligation to teach their children and
the blessings provided by the Church.
Most Important Things Learned at Home
As the world grows ever more threatening, the powers
of heaven draw ever closer to families and parents.
I have studied much in the scriptures and have taught
from them. I have read much from what the prophets
and apostles have spoken. They have had a profound
influence upon me as a man and as a father.
But most of what I know about how our Father in
Heaven really feels about us, His children, I have
learned from the way I feel about my wife and my
children and their children. This I have learned at
home. I have learned it from my parents and from
my wife’s parents, from my beloved wife and from
my children, and I can therefore testify of a loving
Heavenly Father and of a redeeming Lord. In the
name of Jesus Christ, amen.Notes- See Doctrine and Covenants 68:25.
- Doctrine and Covenants 20:75.
- Doctrine and Covenants 43:8.
- See Mosiah 18:25; Alma 6:6.
- Malachi 4:6; see also 3 Nephi 25:5–6; Doctrine
and Covenants 2:2–3. - Doctrine and Covenants 93:47.
- See Doctrine and Covenants 93:41–42.
- See Doctrine and Covenants 93:44, 50.
- Doctrine and Covenants 93:49.
- See Alma 12:32.
- Doctrine and Covenants 68:25.
KEEPING LIFE’S
DEMANDS IN BALANCE
Elder M. Russell Ballard
Of the Quorum
of the Twelve Apostles
In Conference Report,
Apr. 1987, 15–18;
or Ensign,May 1987,
14–16A periodic review of the covenants we have made
with the Lord will help us with our priorities and
with balance in our lives. This review will help us280 PRIORITIES ANDBALANCE